The MTR Corp started playing soft music in concourses at its stations yesterday as part of a service to help passengers relieve stress. All 53 MTR station concourses have started broadcasting music following a pilot scheme in Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai stations. The company said passengers had reacted favourably to the music. But the soothing sounds were so soft few passengers could hear them at Quarry Bay station. Passenger and beautician Angela Ng Wing-ki, 25, from Tung Chung, said she did not hear music in Quarry Bay and did not know about the broadcasts. But she said 'many people would find it acceptable'. MTR spokeswoman Claudia Ho said only soft music without vocals would be played, but she declined to name the tunes or say whether they would be mostly classical or popular hits. MTR head of operations Wilfred Lau Cheuk-man said the music broadcasts aimed to provide a more comfortable journey for passengers. 'As life in Hong Kong is busy, we hope we can make our passengers more relaxed and moderate their nervousness,' he said. At this stage, there is no plan to broadcast music on train platforms but 'we will listen to the passengers' response and we will further decide on the next step', Mr Lau said. KCRC spokesman Siu Kam-hang said at this stage the company had no plan to offer a similar service. Meanwhile, from now until the end of the year, volunteers from a community college under the Polytechnic University will help passengers by giving directions, helping them to buy tickets and add value to Octopus cards. Most participants major in tourism, hotel management and marketing at the college. The volunteer programme follows an ongoing service in which students from 18 primary schools work on trains to encourage passengers to give seats to the elderly and disabled.